Thread: Anyone live or travel to Kuala Lumpur?

Hi Folks,

I have an interview next week for a possible teaching job in Kuala Lumpur (for Jan 2024) at an international school. I have been doing a lot of research about the place and also reading about Malaysia in general. It looks to be quite a clean place with a variety of cuisine (Indian, Malay, Chinese), and friendly locals. I would be a bit south (20 mins) outside of KL, but I read that the subway goes out there. I read that the cost of living is extremely cheap at least compared to the west.

Anyone with any experience or information to share would be appreciated. I'll know more about the job in the near future once I speak to the school. It looks like the pay would be about 3000-4000 CAD a month and they also give a housing allowance among other benefits.

Cheers

Good luck with it all!

Look forward to your travel threads.

I believe Hal might be able to assist you with that neck of the world.

Unfortunately he's convalescing in the Artic circle with limited Internet and access to MUTV

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

I'll know more about the job in the near future once I speak to the school.

Will you show them your CV, if they request it?

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Will you show them your CV, if they request it?

Obviously Spamdreth now jog on.

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

Anyone live or travel to Kuala Lumpur?

I lived there years back but hasn't changed much.

Aside from a bit of Muslim silliness I think you would find living there quite enjoyable.

Go for it.

Originally Posted by Joe 90

Good luck with it all!

Look forward to your travel threads.

I believe Hal might be able to assist you with that neck of the world.

Unfortunately he's convalescing in the Artic circle with limited Internet and access to MUTV

Thanks Joe! It seems like quite a few people have experience living and or travelling to KL on here! I will know more as time goes on, but could be a great place to travel from to places still on my list like Indonesia (Bali in particular), Philippines, Singapore and Thailand of course!

Originally Posted by Norton

I lived there years back but hasn't changed much.

Aside from a bit of Muslim silliness I think you would find living there quite enjoyable.

Go for it.

Thanks Norton, what did you like about it in particular?
I may go for it, but right now everything is in the air. It would be a huuuge decision for me to go abroad again, but I can't stop myself from wanting to go again...

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

would be a huuuge decision for me to go abroad again, but I can't stop myself from wanting to go again...

Your half way there!

Life's too short, go for it!

It will be a fantastic experience .

Hi MM! I've been to KL a few times, either as its own destination or as a jump-off point to somewhere else. If you want to travel around SE Asia, it's a good location to be based in. It's the hub of Air Asia (budget airline) and they have promos every so often.

As for land travel from KL, it has good infrastructure - good MRT system and trains to nearby provinces. There's also a big bus terminal ~30 min away from the city center - that's where the provincial buses go to. I've been there as a solo traveler and as a couple. It's fairly easy and I felt safe as a solo female traveler. On one of my trips, I went to Klang province to visit a friend/ ex-colleague. It's ~1 hr away by train or bus and travel was a breeze.

Re: cost of living, it's comparable to TH. They have a good selection of food - cheap or pricey, depends on your choices.

As for the society, they're a predominantly Muslim country but they're moderate. I felt comfortable going around in shorts and T-shirt (can't say that for all countries that I've visited). There are Indians & Chinese, but predominantly Malay.

My last visit was in Jan 2020 - I made a thread about it. Flew to KL, stayed for a few days then went to Cameron Highlands by bus. Travel to/ from KL was easy peasy. You can book bus tickets online. The bus had reclinable chairs, only 3 seats per row. (I think it was a deluxe bus.)

If they offer you a good package & you want to travrl around the region, I'd say go for it too!

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

Thanks Norton, what did you like about it in particular?

Was working at the time so likes based around work and living. Very good public transport, most folks spoke English, a wide variety of resturants/food markets, good quality housing at relatively low cost, immigration/visa process much easier than many other countries.

I love KL and consider the city a far nicer place to live in compared to Bangkok.

I spent the majority of my time there in Petalin Jaya just outside the main city.

^^^Thanks for all the great info, Katie! I'll check out your thread. The bus seems really nice and comfy that you took to Cameron highlands.

^^Thanks Norton for your experience, glad you enjoyed it.

^Cheers LT, how did you like being outside of the city? I would be near Petalin as well.

^you're welcome. The bus trip from KL to Cameron Highlands (CH) was ~4 hours, with 2 restroom stops. At the CH bus station, there are buses which go further north, i.e. Penang/ Butterworth or to Langkawi. So if you have 2 weeks vacation, you could explore those 3 places if you wish.

From KL, you can travel by bus/ train to the south (Singapore) or to the north (all the way to Bangkok). You can book train tickets online, so it's convenient.

From KL, I visited Klang province where my friend stayed. I travelled by train to get there, then bus to return to KL. Klang was located in an industrial area - I passed lots of factories during the train ride. The impression I got was that it was clean & peaceful. My friend lived in a low-rise condo complex and it looked like a quiet, family-friendly neighbourhood. She had 2 small kids and it was inconvenient for her to travel, so I went to visit her place. It was nice since I got to see a non-touristy area & saw a bit of ordinary life in that place.

KL>Klang>Singapore could stop off in Melaka and try some local Malay Portugese cuisine. Debal Curry comes to mind.

Pm me

Great place, great people, great food, loads of things to do and see throughout the whole country.

^Great stuff! I revived your travel thread with lots of great information on it from others on the forum as well.

Thanks a lot katie, ghost, kw, LT, for the comments. I have an interview tomorrow with a recruiter so i'll find out more information. I'll pm you at some point soon willy. I've been super busy with start of school, and interviews going on.

^Thanks happy! Were you in Malaysia past the 183 day mark. I had the interview with the recruiter and I have a lot to look into and do if I'm going to try to go for January. He told me that you have to be in the country for more than 183 days to be considered a resident for tax purposes. And the first 183 days you have to pay 30% income tax. per month off your salary. .. after that the tax goes way down. I can also get money back if I'm there past a year from income tax. The salary he quoted me seems quite good, closer to 5000 CAD and that includes the allowance for housing. It is about 40 mins away from the main area in kL.

Sounds great MM!

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

Were you in Malaysia past the 183 day mark. I had the interview with the recruiter and I have a lot to look into and do if I'm going to try to go for January. He told me that you have to be in the country for more than 183 days to be considered a resident for tax purposes. And the first 183 days you have to pay 30% income tax. per month off your salary.

If you're going to stay a couple of years, don't sweat the taxes. You'll get a big chunk back at the end of the tax year. It's like an enforced no-interest savings plan.

Originally Posted by MarilynMonroe

The salary he quoted me seems quite good, closer to 5000 CAD

That's around RM 17,000/month. You'll be fine. Get yourself a practical little car (hopefully they will provide or give you transport allowance) as Malaysian suburbs can sometimes be a bit far from desired services.

I've been plenty of times but always used it as a transit stop to go elsewhere. It's nice enough the people are OK, a bit stiff n starchy but ok. There a pretty diverse bunch. Foods great and inexpensive I think it would probably be a great place to work. Go for it MM

Won't happen.

The 'world traveller', who has travelled less than 90% of the posters here, will stay put again.

I liked the place so much I bought an apartment there. Financially not the best idea, but it's a great city for expats. The locals are more focused on health and fitness than many parts of SE Asia, especially swimming. I got dragged to a 'country club' type place once and it seems there's some vestiges of colonial style clubs if that's your thing. They love theirt shopping malls, but the food courts are generally pretty decent. Traffic is bad. Time journeys accordingly. Hotels are plentiful and cheap.

^That's awesome you bought an apartment there, I was reading that the costs are a lot lower than in the western world for apt/condos. Do you live there or just rent it out? I was seeing that there are tons of shopping malls and a variety of food options. Thanks for the input

Originally Posted by happynz

Get yourself a practical little car (hopefully they will provide or give you transport allowance) as Malaysian suburbs can sometimes be a bit far from desired services.

Thanks again for your thoughts, but from what I can see the area I am in, has a bus rapid transit system that links to the LRT, and can get me into downtown bukit bintang area in 40 mins which isn't bad. For now, I won't be getting a car as I want to try to save on money, live close enough to the school so I can either walk or get there in one or two stops from rapid transportation system. I was looking at the mass rapid transit system and it looks extensive. If need be, I can take a grab somewhere if I want to get there quicker. If I end up going or staying long than a year or two, I will gauge if I need one.

Originally Posted by BLD

I've been plenty of times but always used it as a transit stop to go elsewhere. It's nice enough the people are OK, a bit stiff n starchy but ok. There a pretty diverse bunch. Foods great and inexpensive I think it would probably be a great place to work. Go for it MM

Thanks for your comments BLD. I love how everyone is saying, 'go for it'. I had a big talk with my mom last night about it, as I am quite close to her and her and dad are getting older, so I worry about leaving them.. she said to go for it too even though deep down I don't think she wants me to go. I contacted the recruiter this morning and asked what the next steps would be in the process.

I definitely have some concerns, especially with the heat.. I'm not used to living in a very hot place year round with monsoon season. I guess the next step would be an interview with the actual principal and take it from there.